If you want your property to be brought inside city limits, you may be able to apply to annex your property.

Annexation is the process of including a piece of property within the boundaries of the city, making the property, those who live on it, and those who visit it, eligible for all City services, including available water and sewer services.

Eligibility

You can submit an application for annexation, if your property is contiguous to the city limits and is inside the Urban Growth Boundary.

Procedure Type

An application for an annexation without a Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Change is processed following the Type III application procedures under SRC Chapter 300. An application for an annexation with a Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Change is processed following the Type IV application procedures under SRC Chapter 300

Apply for Annexation

You are encouraged to call Planning staff before starting the annexation process.

• Request a pre-application conference: You must request a pre-application conference prior to submittal.
• Neighborhood Association Contact. Neighborhood association contact, pursuant to SRC 300.310, is required prior to submitting an annexation with a zone change. Prior to submitting a land use application requiring neighborhood association contact, the applicant shall contact the City-recognized neighborhood association(s) whose boundaries include, or are adjacent to, the subject property via e-mail or mailed letter. The e-mail or mailed letter shall be sent to the chair(s) and land use chair(s) of the applicable neighborhood association(s) prior to submitting the land use application and contain the following information:
  • The name, telephone number, and e-mail address of the applicant;
  • The address of the subject property;
  • A summary of the proposal;
  • A conceptual site plan, if applicable, that includes the proposed development; and
  • The date on which the e-mail or letter is being sent.

• Please note that if the application includes a comprehensive plan change with the zone change, an open house, as discussed below, is required instead of neighborhood contact.

  • Open House Required. An open house, pursuant to SRC 300.320, is required prior to submitting an annexation with a comprehensive plan change. Prior to submitting a land use application requiring an open house, the applicant shall arrange and attend one open house for the purpose of providing the applicant with the opportunity to share their proposal with the neighborhood and surrounding property owners and residents prior to application submittal or attend a neighborhood association meeting in-lieu of open house.
  • Application. You must submit all required items listed in the application checklist section below to the Permit Application Center Portal.
  • Completeness review. Staff reviews your application for completeness. If the application is not complete, you will be notified as to what information is missing and will have 180 days to submit the additional information. You may track the status of your application online at the City of Salem permit tracking webpage.
  • Hearing date and notice. Once a complete application is submitted, staff sets the date for a public hearing and sends notice of hearing to the applicant, property owner, neighborhood association, and property owners within 250 feet, all addresses within 250 feet, all addresses on the subject property and any active and duly incorporated Homeowner's Association (HOA) involving the subject property.
  • Posting signs. Staff prepares posting sign(s) and sends notice of posting requirements to the applicant. The applicant must post the sign(s) along street frontage(s) of property 10-14 days prior to hearing.
  • Public hearing(s). Annexations will have a public hearing before the City Council where they will decide if the application meets the approval criteria for annexation into the city. Annexations that include a comprehensive plan change and/or zone change will first have a hearing before the Planning Commission to consider that request. Their recommendation will be sent to the City Council for consideration. At the hearing(s), staff presents a staff report, followed by testimony from applicant, neighborhood association representative, proponent(s), opponent(s) and rebuttal.
  • Decision. The City Council will decide if the application meets the approval criteria for annexation into the city.
• Ordinance adoption: If the City Council approves the proposed annexation, it will adopt an ordinance to annex the subject property inside the city limits and withdraw the subject property from special service districts.
• File annexation records with Secretary of State: The City will notify the State of the territory proposed for annexation. The effective date of the annexation is the date the City files the annexation records with the Secretary of State.

Application Checklist – Without Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Change Proposed

An application for an annexation without Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Changes must contain the following:

• Land use application form. The land use application form must be signed by the applicant(s), property owner(s), and/or duly authorized representative(s). If the applicant and/or property owner is a Limited Liability Company (LLC), please also provide a list of all members of the LLC with your land use application. The land use form will be generated for you when you submit through the Permit Application Center Portal. You will be required to sign the application that is created and upload the signed form.
• Land use application fee. You must pay the application fee when you file your application.
• Recorded deed/Land and sales contract with legal description. You must submit a copy of the recorded deed/land sales contract of the total contiguous ownership of the applicant.
• Pre-Application Written Summary. You must submit a copy of the written summary of the pre-application conference that the Planning Division sent to you after the conference, or a copy of the pre-application conference waiver, if granted.
• Homeowners Association Information. A statement indicating whether the subject property is subject to an active and duly incorporated Homeowner's Association (HOA) registered with the Oregon Secretary of State. If so, the applicant shall provide the HOA name, name of the registered agent and the mailing address for the registered agent.
• Neighborhood Association Contact. A copy of the required e-mail or letter to the neighborhood association, and a list of the e-mail or postal addresses to which the e-mail or letter was sent shall be submitted or the land use application will not be accepted.
• Annexation Petition. An annexation petition that has been signed by all property owners within the territory proposed to be annexed. The petition shall be notarized.
• Health Department Statement. A statement from the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, or the county health department or sanitarian, when applicable, attesting to the presence of a failing septic system or health hazard, and which otherwise complies with health hazard abatement law relative to annexations.
• Population Questionnaire. A completed population questionnaire for the territory.
• Written Statement. You must provide a written statement describing the proposal and how it conforms to the following approval criteria for an annexation SRC 260.010(g)(1):

Application Checklist – With Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Change Proposed

An application for an annexation with Comprehensive Plan Change and/or Zone Changes must contain the following:

• Land use application form. The land use application form must be signed by the applicant(s), property owner(s), and/or duly authorized representative(s). If the applicant and/or property owner is a Limited Liability Company (LLC), please also provide a list of all members of the LLC with your land use application. The land use form will be generated for you when you submit through the Permit Application Center Portal. You will be required to sign the application that is created and upload the signed form.
• Land use application fee. You must pay the application fee when you file your application.
• Recorded deed/Land and sales contract with legal description. You must submit a copy of the recorded deed/land sales contract of the total contiguous ownership of the applicant.
• Pre-Application Written Summary. You must submit a copy of the written summary of the pre-application conference that the Planning Division sent to you after the conference, or a copy of the pre-application conference waiver, if granted.
• Homeowners Association Information. A statement indicating whether the subject property is subject to an active and duly incorporated Homeowner's Association (HOA) registered with the Oregon Secretary of State. If so, the applicant shall provide the HOA name, name of the registered agent and the mailing address for the registered agent.
• Neighborhood Association Contact. For applications with a Zone Change. A copy of the required e-mail or letter to the neighborhood association, and a list of the e-mail or postal addresses to which the e-mail or letter was sent shall be submitted or the land use application will not be accepted.
• Open House. For applications with a Comprehensive Plan Change. A copy of the sign-in sheet for the open house and a summary of the comments provided or when a neighborhood association meeting has been substituted for a required open house, a summary of the comments provided at the neighborhood association meeting or the land use application will not be accepted.
• Annexation Petition. An annexation petition that has been signed by all property owners within the territory proposed to be annexed. The petition shall be notarized.
• Health Department Statement. A statement from the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, or the county health department or sanitarian, when applicable, attesting to the presence of a failing septic system or health hazard, and which otherwise complies with health hazard abatement law relative to annexations.
• Population Questionnaire. A completed population questionnaire for the territory.
• Trip Generation Estimate (TGE) Form. You must complete the applicant portion of the TGE form and upload it with your land use application. Staff will decide whether or not a Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) is necessary.
• Transportation Planning Rule Analysis. Transportation Planning Rule (TPR) Analysis in consideration of the requirements of the Transportation Planning Rule (Oregon Administrative Rule 660-012-006 completed by a traffic engineer and submitted with the application. The analysis determines whether or not the proposed zone change will have a “significant effect on the transportation system.” If it does impact the system, the analysis determines how those effects will be mitigated. You will need to provide the analysis in order to demonstrate compliance with Statewide Planning Goal 12 – Transportation. (If the zone change application is submitted with a consolidated Comprehensive Plan map change application, only one analysis is required.)
• Written Statement. You must provide a written statement describing the proposal and how it conforms to the following approval criteria for an annexation SRC 260.010(g)(2):

The proposed quasi-judicial zone change complies with the quasi-judicial zone change approval criteria of SRC 265.005(e), when the annexation includes a quasi-judicial zone change.

Get Water and Sewer Service

In some cases, you can connect to City water and sewer services once you have filed for annexation and Planning staff has determined that your annexation application is complete. In other cases, you can connect to City water and sewer services after your annexation is effective. For more information, you can call the Public Works Department.

You are not required to connect to City water service after annexation, so you can continue to use your existing wells. Generally, you are only required to connect to City sewer service if your septic system is not functioning properly and a City sewer main is located near your property. For more information, you can call the Public Works Department.